Walking back into the square, Ember paused by the chatted, black, and melted Crackstone statue. His face hat melted off, but those eyes... they still haunted her. Even if they weren't on the statue anymore.

She circled the statue, but, on her second rotation, she noticed something strange. Her aunt, with black dress billowing behind her, walking towards the graveyard with a single, blood red rose in hand.

What's she doing now? Ember thought, as she snuck along the edge of a building and watched her mother approach a grave.

From there, Morticia paused, before she ripped the flower off the rose and chucked the stem to the gravestone. She then chucked all the rose petals behind her and walked off, slowly.

Ember didn't care if a cat was killed, her curiosity was too strong.

So, swinging a side gate to the graveyard open, she walked in, being careful to avoid being seen.

She felt a nice feeling, being amongst the gravestones, however, that feeling was replaced by a thudding heart and a dropping stomach.

GARRETT GATES was the name on the headstone.

Ember gave an audible gasp and her eyes went wide, her gaze never wavered.

And her questions never stopped.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Ember was silent on the whole way in the car from Jericho to Nevermore, and, when she got out of the car, she had been planning to go to her dorm to be alone. Her family would go to lunch, where (hopefully) Wednesday would show them around.

But that wasn't what happened.

"Ember!"

About ten steps towards her dorm, Ember heard Pugsley.

"Yes?" She demanded.

"I was just... wondering if I could come with you? I would love if you would show me around!" Pugsley grinned. Ember's look told him everything he needed to know; not on his life.

By now, Wednesday, Morticia and Gomez had headed towards the quad, so even if Ember didn't want Pugsley hanging around, she couldn't just dump him randomly.

She sighed, deciding it better to head to the quad and just sit out this Parents Weekend, rather than trying to get away from it. So she walked off and into the school, Pugsley following her, now all they had to do was not run into anyon-

"OMG! Is this your cousin?!"

Great. Obviously, Enid, Ajax and Xavier had found time to themselves, as they were walking together right now, Enid having been the one that had spoken.

"Erm- hi, I'm Pugsley," Pugsley smiled and extended his hand, Enid grinned and shook it, starting a whole conversation with him.

"Oh my god! You like Taylor Swift too...?"

Meanwhile, Ember heard Xavier joking to Ajax quietly. "Twist! Ember's cousin's been here two minutes and's already making friends with people, something Ember hasn't managed in two months..."

"Shut your mouth, or I'll stitch it shut," Ember told him, staring hard at him as Ajax laughed. This remark drew Enid and Pugsley's conversation to an end, as well.

"So... whilst we're on the topic of introductions, this is Ajax Petropolus, my boyfriend..." Enid grinned, gesturing to the boy in the beanie. "And this is Xavier Thorpe," she looked to the other, tall boy.

Pugsley's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Xavier Thorpe?! As in-"

"Vincent Thorpe, yeah," Xavier smiled. "Your cousin told me you were a fan."

"He's like, the best!" Pugsley grinned. "Wait. Is he here?!"

Ember looked up. "Is he?" She couldn't help asking, looking up at him.

"No," Xavier was looking at Ember, not Pugsley. "Received a text this morning. Same one I get every year."

"Oh," Pugsley sighed. Then he smiled. "So, what are all your powers?"

Though it wasn't the most tactful of remarks, they soon realised he wasn't the most tactful of people. Enid showed him her claws (he jumped back), Ajax his snakes (he gasped) and Xavier enchanted a mural on a nearby wall to show him his telekinesis.

Ember got them walking by the time this had been finished, and, after Enid, Ajax and Xavier leading him out to the quad, they all bade goodbye to go back to their families (Xavier to go do another painting, or something).

"Mmm, I am famished," Morticia's voice pulled Ember and Pugsley back to the Addams. Gomez, Morticia and Wednesday were standing beside the food table that was set up in the quad. Families were talking and mingling there, whilst eating and drinking up.

"Your friends seem nice," Pugsley told her as they walked towards their family. "Especially Xavier-"

"You spent less than ten minutes with him. You can't really know if he's 'nice'. Anyways, you only really want to meet his dad," Ember said cuttingly.

Pugsley said nothing, but instead smiled knowingly as he and his cousin got to their destination. Ember saw his look, but didn't bother to trouble herself with what it was about.

Anyway, Morticia was speaking to her now, anyway. "You're not hungry, darling?" She asked, looking at her niece.

"My appetite eludes me, aunt," Ember said, not lifting her eyes from the food table. "The same way the truth eludes you."

And with that she walked round her aunt, heading for the doors.

She knew what she needed to do.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Five minutes later, the sheriff and five of his men and women were opening the doors to the quad. Ember was still standing beside her family, knowing what was to come.

Everyone fell silent as the doors slammed back, gasps escaping from many's mouths.

"May I ask what this is about, sheriff?" Weems was the first to find her tongue, walking right in front of the sheriff's path.

Sheriff Galpin, meanwhile, ignored her, and walked straight past, now halfway across the quad with his gang behind him. "Gomez Addams!" He shouted, swiftly approaching the named man.

Gomez, meanwhile, was standing up, space devoid of fear. "How can I help you sheriff?"

"You're under arrest for the murder of Garrett Gates," the sheriff was quick with the handcuffs, making Gomez now unable to fight back. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"Dad?" Pugsley asked as the sheriff lead Gomez off. The arrested man himself was quite shocked and his eyes were wide; he looked quite indifferent, actually.

Morticia, meanwhile, was breathing angrily from beside Ember. Her eyes blazed, and her mouth twisted into an angry expression.

"You have the right to an attorney," Sheriff Galpin went on, yanking Gomez back round as he tried to look at Morticia. "If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you."

Ember's eyes went wide as she looked back at her aunt. Morticia's eyes were glazed over, tears threatening to fall from them. She blinked once, then a couple of them fell from her eyes.

But crying didn't fix anything.

Ember knew that.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

The arrest had soon turned into a prison sentence. A couple hours in the bag, and Ember was waiting in the prison to talk to her uncle, who soon got lead out of his cell, dressed all up in orange overalls. Prison overalls.

Ember just sat, staring through the glass in front of her, looking at her uncle, who was sitting across from her. Thing crawled up beside her, climbing up the glass and making Gomez tear up at the sight. He put his hand to the hand's rather nostalgically, watching Thing slip back down the window sadly.

Ember just watched on with an unreadable expression.

"My little spark, how's your mother?" Gomez asked her.

"Devastated. She hates you in orange," Ember quipped. Then down to business. "I caught her laying a ripped up rose on a grave earlier today. The headstone read 'Garrett Gates'. The very boy you've been arrested for murdering. How interesting."

She spoke sarcastically, but Gomez's eyes went wide at her speech, and he looked down.

"Care to explain?" Ember went on. She needed the truth. Needed it.

And, as Gomez stared down at the table in front of him, then up to meet Ember's eyes, he indulged.

"Garrett was infatuated with your aunt," he started. "He mistook her kindness for interest."

He wasn't even looking at Ember now; eyes angled up at the ceiling. "His infatuation turned to obsession, and he started stalking her."

"Why didn't you call the police?" Ember asked, for this would be the logical thing to do. However, her parents weren't very prone to logic.

"We tried," Gomez said immediately. "But his family were the oldest and richest in Jericho. No one believed us. Garrett's father, an outcast-hating bigot, was furious that your mother had accused his only son. But it all came to a head the night of the Rave'N dance..."

He closed his eyes, trying to remember.

"Your aunt and I stepped out to catch our breath.... and that's when I saw him. He had broken into the school. His twisted love for your aunt had made him insane. His eyes note into me, brimming with murderous intent..."

And so he told Ember. How Garret had taken a sword from a display, and chased Gomez up to the balcony, where they fought. Morticia, meanwhile, was just coming up, having told Gomez to run because Garrett wouldn't hurt her.

"My life flashed before my eyes," Gomez said, as he recounted how he and Garrett had fought on the balcony. "Driven by jealousy and hate, Garrett was unstoppable..."

He spoke of how he had knocked the sword out of Garrett's hand... and how the fight turned to a fist on. He had got on top of Gomez... strangling him...

But then the tables turned, and Gomez was the one that was strangling now... but then Garrett knocked him off, and he rolled across the balcony, landing beside the sword...

"When I saw the sword, my survival instinct kicked in," Gomez told Ember.

Finally, the story. At an end.

Garret had come running at Gomez, not noticing the sword in his hand... he had run onto the sword... impaling himself in the gut...

"It was a terrible accident," Gomez looked down.

Gomez had gasped, pulling the sword out or Garrett and letting him fall the twenty or so metres down from the balcony...

A young Weems, who had been walking outside, had found Garrett's body falling in front of her... she had screamed, looking up and seeing Gomez... sword in hand...

Ember thought about all of this as she was told it.

If I'm being objective, his confession sounds entirely plausible, delivered with the perfect degree of sincerity.

Perhaps my father is exactly what he says.

"Thank you for being so honest with me," she decided to say.

Gomez nodded.

But then there's the matter of his tells.

Gomez smoothed his moustache slowly, and gave an almost inscrutable wink.

The way he smooths his moustache, and delivers a comforting wink.

I've been playing Russian roulette with him and Uncle Fester since I was twelve. I know them well.

"I'm sorry I wasn't a better uncle," Gomez sniffled, tears falling. "You- you always preferred Fester- and- and tell Wednesday-"

"Can we please do this without the exaggerated displays of emotion?" Ember interrupted.

"I know they make you break into a rash," Gomez muttered, nodding, putting his hands up.

Ember paused. "How many uncles hand their niece a fencing blade when she's five years old?" She questioned.

"Your saber strokes were an essay in perfection!" Gomez hissed.

"Or teach her how to swim with sharks?" Ember went on.

"They found you as cold blooded as I do," said Gomez bluntly.

"The right way to flay a rattlesnake?"

"They really do taste like chicken when prepared properly."

"The point I'm trying to make is, my mother tried to teach me to rely on people in life, whereas you taught me to be strong and independent," Ember told her uncle. "How to navigate myself in a world full of treachery and prejudice. You are the reason that I never lose sight of myself. So as far as unclehood goes, I would say you've been more than adequate."

Gomez smiled slightly, a couple more tears falling. "Gracias, Ember."

Ember couldn't bring herself to say it back.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

About fifteen minutes and a strange phone call off of Enid's phone later, Ember was in the sheriff's office again. She had disposed of his PA, Bernice, so, when she heard him shouting, she emerged.

"Bernice! Bernice!" The sheriff was making himself a coffee.

"Bernice may or may not have received a call that her tabby cat Swifty, is being held for ransom," Ember walked in slowly.

The sheriff scoffed. "Might've known it would be you."

"It always is," Ember retorted. "My uncle did not kill Garrett Gates."

The sheriff just nodded along. "Well, I have his signed confession, and he identified the saber be used to do it, both of which I'm about to deliver to the District Attorney."

"Don't you find the timing a tad bit convenient?" Ember took a step forward. She had been hearing about a certain death of a certain coroner, and she was very interested. "The coroner kills himself out of remorse for a decade's old murder case, the very weekend my uncle, your prime suspect, deigns to return to town."

She was shouting now, her voice having raised a couple notches. She was angry, and it was showing.

"All I see is a guilty man who's finally going to pay for his crime," the sheriff quipped. He then put a nostalgic smile on his face. "And cuffing him myself... oh, that was the icing on the cake."

"How are you failing to see that someone is desperately trying to derail my investigation?" Ember leant forward over the desk. "I found the monster's cave, and I have you the DNA evidence. Did you even bother to test it?"

"This may come as a shock, but the world does not revolve around you, Addams," the sheriff told Ember, kicking his chair out and sitting down at his desk. He got something out the drawer, slamming it down on the desk. "Here. DNA results. No match. Inconclusive," he looked up at her.

Her eyes widened, but she didn't let on she was surprised. "So you truly believe this is all some coincidence? Whoever hurt Eugene also murdered the coroner."

The sheriff stood up, leering over his desk at her. "Unfortunately, someone sabotaged the security camera in the morgue, so we don't know what happened. They stuck bubblegum on the lense. Black bubblegum."

Even though Ember had definitely not murdered the coroner, she (or rather, Thing) had been responsible for bubblegum-ing the lense. She tried not to let her face show it.

"Maybe I should run DNA on that?" Though she had a feeling the sheriff already knew it was her.

"Someone is trying to throw me off my game. This is all a distraction," she said, avoiding the bubblegum subject.

"No, this is about justice being served," the sheriff banged a fist on his desk. His voice was rising. "Garrett Gates' family deserves closure, even if none of them are around to take comfort in it."

None of the Gates' are alive anymore, Ember realised. "What happened to them?" She asked.

"His mother hung herself in the backyard, his father drank his way to an early grave, even his little sister didn't escape," the sheriff recited. "She was orphaned, sent overseas, and ended up drowning. Every last one of them's gone.

"So your father doesn't just gave Garrett's blood on his hands, he's got the whole damn family's," Sheriff Galpin finished, sitting down again.

Ember didn't bother to check if this was true.

The sheriff was many things.

But he wasn't a liar.